Just another hot day

Sunrises on a pond.  Portland Press Herald

  That photo wasn't taken this week for sure, neither the air or water are chilly.  Today will be another day at ninety degrees then maybe one more on Sunday, whew!
  I am going to walk a little less today early this morning, then it's a Hollie day so I'll be home before noon; to stay!
  I have not decided yet which project to work on, my guess is it'll be the house alone.  I am sure that it would look better that way, a bit more detail will make a difference.  Hope that's not wishful thinking.
  Red Sox are back with a win after the All-Star break that was welcome news, so we'll just plod along and wait.  The old manager used to say "well, it's a long season" when asked why the team kept losing; he never added that it was August and there were only a few weeks left.  So, I'll say it again.  It's a long season.

Surprise, surprise or not

eee yah, nah!

  It's been a while since I painted something I liked, this isn't it.  Well, back to the drawing board.  I have in mind to redo that old house.  Make it larger and just do the house, no grass, no trees, no bushes - just house.  It's an option.
  It was hot yesterday, and will be a little more hot today and tomorrow. Yuk!  I don't care much for heat, anything above 72 degrees is just too much.  I hate it when the broadcasters say "oh, wow a lovely sunny day" and the temps will be in the 80s.  Are they nuts or do they feel compelled to do fake stuff, do they really like the heat?  I know, deep down, that there actually are people who just like a sunny day and don't care how hot it is.  Deep down, secretly, I thing they're nuts!
  Well, off for a walk and then back to the drawing board.  Hint: it won't be flowers.

How much

Such as it is, there's still some work to do - click to enlarge

  There went an average day, summer style.  Between watching the end of the Tour de France, watching a couple of games of the NBA Summer League and some highlights of the MLB All-Star game and working on the project up there....well, I got tired.
  I was dozing on and off most of the afternoon and evening I think, there was one nap of about 30 minutes too.  And I walked a couple of miles less too; but my weekly average is about 6.5 miles a day.
  I will be back on my regular walking schedule today, need to have to car home at 8am, so will be prompt about things.  A couple of errands to do as well but those are the easy ones.
  Well, back to the grind ;P

Daytime dreaming

  I took a little nap yesterday afternoon in between working on the project and watching the NBA Summer League on TV.  At my age it's not unusual for me to nap during the day to rest from my walking (I guess).  Here are the details I wrote down after I woke up.

  I had a dream that some of my old Navy buddies of 50 years ago, our son Jon and I went to a basketball

game in San Francisco.  Odd because it was an NBA game and there is no longer a team in that city, but
the Warriors will be moving back in the near future.
  When the game ended we left in smaller groups, Jon and I were separated, he had gone on with some
Of the others.  Somewhere along the line when a friend gave me my hat, that had the crown torn out, I
reached in my pocket and found that I had Jons phone as well as my own.

  My first thought was to call Jon but I was afraid the number I had was an old one.  I could call Darlene, Jons wife, and asked her to call Jon, but I abandoned that idea for some reason.  Well then, I'd call home and my wife could call Darlene, or maybe even call Jon.

  By that time I needed a pencil, I went into a place that might have been a YMCA, empty rooms a real mess.  I found a room that had a table with screwdrivers and pencils, just as I reached the table the pencils rolled on to the floor.  I got a pencil and tried to call home, but I had Jons phone, don't ask me

where my own was at that point.  His phone was large, thick and encased in one of those hard plastic shells that you don't like to open.  There were some buttons on the outside but I couldn't figure out which one to use.  Then I woke up; I had been watched the NBA Summer League games in between working on the "project"; paint needs to dry.

  Too funny to be true.

That didn't copy over very well did it?  But, you get the point, it's both funny and dumb.

Here is the project as it sits now:

It's a start.

The tracing and early stuff - click to enlarge

  That's kind of hard to see, easier for me it's bigger.  I splashed some paint in different areas to mark which were the flowers.  When I'm working I have the picture with me so I can tell what's what.
There is a long ways to go, it will only be the flowers, none of the buildings are included, I'm an amateur you know.
  Walking was good yesterday, cool and not humid and a little breeze, nice!  This morning is about the same, little more humidity because the breeze is now south-west (that's not nice in Maine).
  A busy morning today, little paint can go on in the afternoon.

I'm working from this photo.

This photo will help with color. www.flowerspictures.org

Cooler and dry

Flowers at the Charlie Howard garden, Bangor Maine - click

  Thankfully the weather took a turn for the best yesterday, the morning was cool and the air had dried out considerably.  Maine summer was back!
  I was able to walk four and a half miles before going to coffee at 5:00AM, comfortably.  The total for the day turned out to be seven and on half miles.
  When I got back home I took my wife out to breakfast and we walked around at the waterfront park and took a short walk around the Charlie Howard Memorial Garden in downtown Bangor.  I came away with an idea for my next project.  I can hear you groaning all the way over here!  We took some photos of the pink hollyhocks and I think on of those will be the base for my next painting.  Take a look.

Pink hollyhocks

Heated up

Dragons Mouth Wild Orchid. www.orchidboard.org photo - click

  These are plants that grow in some bogs in Maine, like the bog called the Orono Board Walk.  The other day someone picked a variety of wild orchid, that's a real no no.  It takes years and years for one of these to grow and survive, removing one is really stupid.
  On to walking now; yesterday morning was warm, 67, and humid with no breeze.  After the first three miles I was pretty damp.  Todays reported current weather is for 67 degrees but with a breeze from the north-northwest.  That breeze could be a welcome thing, a cooling thing; I certainly hope so.
My plan is to average six miles per day and maybe bring that up to seven miles a day if weather conditions cooperate.  So I'll be off pretty soon, at 3:00AM, for a go at the day.

Grass Pink Wild Orchid. www.illinois.sierraclub.org photo

Another variety of wild orchid that grows in Maine bogs.  Leave them where they are, please.